Update on COVID-19 Testing for Healthcare Providers
c/o Kathy Lofy, MD (State Health Officer, Washington State Department of Health [DOH])
Dear Provider,
We recently became aware of significant delays in obtaining COVID-19 test results from some of the large commercial labs. This is very concerning because obtaining test results quickly is critical for informing our contact tracing efforts and containing the spread of the virus.
Below is a list of Washington-based labs that have confirmed their willingness to provide molecular COVID-19 testing to hospitals and clinics. In most cases, our in-state laboratories can process specimens and return results more rapidly than out-of-state labs. We strongly encourage you to use our in-state labs for COVID-19 testing so that we can shorten the turn-around time for test results. Furthermore, it would be useful for providers to identify multiple laboratory testing options so that COVID-19 specimens can be redirected to other labs in the state when necessary to ensure rapid results for patients.
Please feel free to reach out to these labs to discuss.